Dustdevil

ooops. :roll:

I agree. a simple folding stretcher with wheels and an elevating head is more than adequate, and a LOT more reasonably priced than an ambulance cot, which you really probably have no use for. And it will be a LOT easier to get up, down, and around an industrial plant too. Especially since you are probably going to be the only one on scene who knows how to work that stretcher. You wouldn't want bystanders attempting to raise and lower your patient with you.

You could get one of those stretchers, a scoop stretcher, a stair chair, and a tonne of other goodies for your clinic for the same money you'd pay for a Ferno or Stryker ambulance cot.

Remember, in most cases you are going to be carrying somebody simply to the clinic to recover and return to work or go home. I am guessing that you would not be transporting. And those patients who require immobilization and transportation would usually be transported by EMS directly from the scene, not from the clinic, so an elaborate cot just shouldn't be required.

Wow, that was WORTH bringing back up! :shock:

If that info was posted here three weeks before it happened, then the mayor of N.O. and the governor of LA better come up with a much better excuse for being wholly unprepared than they are currently offering! :roll:

What if the medic admits taking the medication ?

It depends. When did he "admit" it? Before or after he was caught? And by he "admits taking the medication," do you mean he admitted the theft, or simply admitted to using the medication?

Personally, I have as much tolerance for substance abuse as I have for child abuse. Rehab is unreliable for both, and both are crimes of moral turpitude which seriously diminish or entirely shatter my confidence in the employee's reliability and integrity. I've never understood why there is all this special sympathy for substance abusers in the first place, other than a bunch of liberal drivel from the APA and ACLU. In medicine and nursing they are lenient because of the shortage. We have no shortage of EMTs.

Of course, what you do -- or even can do -- about it depends a lot on where you are. In union and civil service systems, you are extremely limited in how you can deal with the situation. But if it is up to me -- and so long as my legal advisors concur -- I am putting the employee on special duty away from patient care pending the legal outcome of his case. If found guilty, then I am firing them. It's not my responsibility to get them out of the pickle they got themselves into, and there are plenty more rookie EMTs out there more than happy to take his spot.

I am a huge supporter of the Explorer program, and of Scouting in general. So really, I hate to even bring this up. But man... it seems that you can't hardly open the newspaper anymore without reading about sexual misconduct between fire/police/EMS officials and the Explorers entrusted to them. Every few years, either a Fort Worth cop or Paramedic gets busted for it. When this happens, it is a HUGE publicity blow to the agency involved. And every time, everybody involved acts like they absolutely could not have conceived of such a thing happening.

Again, I support Exploring fully. But for the sake of your agency's and your own personal integrity, keep your mind and your eyes wide open to the potential for misconduct. Do some research through the Scouting council regarding the subject, as they are just as concerned about it as you are. But also do some independent research on the net and through talking to other agencies who currently or previously had Exploring programs. It would probably be helpful to seek out agencies that experienced problems and ask for their advice too, because I am sure that in retrospect, most of them have some good advice of things to do and to look for.

Haha! Only in NYC does a drunk call turn into an MCI!

Ahhh! Now there is some information that actually offers something useful!

I always applaud efforts to identify and serve those patients who typically get overlooked by the system. Especially when it takes nothing more than a little outside-the-box thinking to do so.

Thanks for the update, SA!

I'd think the main reason the mortality rate is so high is a combination of misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis.

Agreed, Kev. They seem to be suggesting that silent MI's are somehow more pathological than symptomatic MI's, which the study doesn't seem to prove or even address.

This reminds me of the study that revealed that patients who arrived at the ER by ambulance suffered higher mortality rates than those who arrived by private conveyance. Well DUH! Those who arrive by ambulance are statistically more likely to be sicker or more seriously injured than those who arrive by conveyance! Yet everyone was quick to cite the study as if it somehow proved that medics were killing people, which was not even addressed by the study.

Can you tell that I am not too quick to trust all these "studies" that come out everyday? :roll: It seems that very few of them present a useful conclusion, and are simply presenting statistics for the sake of statistics... and for federal grant money, of course.

As Kev says, what is the solution? Do we go house to house and give everybody a 12 lead and cardiac enzyme profile just in case they are having a silent MI? Does everybody who comes into the ER with nausea get the same? Or is the statistic irrelevant to medical practice, and simply suggest the unfortunate fact of life that if you don't know you are sick, you can't seek help?

HIPPA would be the least of your concerns in that case. It is federal copyright laws you would need to be worried about. I am pretty sure that "Paramedics" is copyrighted and probably not really open to their work being used without permission.

Almost any vehicle will provide you the room you need, since you're not transporting or doing heavy rescue. Since you have a specific need for all-terrain capability, then obviously sedans are out.

Panel trucks or squads are overkill, unless you want to be a rescue or MCI capable unit.

Same thing with Excursions or Suburbans.

Tahoe's are great, but suck gas something fierce.

Grand Cherokees are my personal favourite, as they provide more than adequate room on a tough but comfortably riding 4wd chassis that gets better mileage than a larger vehicle. Dodge and Ford both make similarly sized SUV's that would fit into this category.

Although unspeakable back in the days of cheap gas, the possibility of going with a foreign made SUV can no longer be discounted. The Xterra, the Mistubishi Monterro, and other import SUV's may offer you the best combination of features and economy. If so, it would be foolish to not seriously consider them.

Can you tell us more about your plan? Is this response force to be a free-standing "rescue squad," or associated with a currently existing agency? Do you have community and governmental support, both theoretically and financially?

Nope. I'm adult enough to admit my mistakes, take my licks, learn from the experience and move on. And I did all that before this system had to be implemented. Amazing how I figured the system out in only a week, when the average learning curve seems to be six months.

I don't believe I am so much better than anybody else on this board that I ought to demand special treatment. Even though I am a Sophomore and you're just a Freshman. :wink:

I find it amazing the folks who find this justified has not posted or been active much, contibuted articles or have been active members very long....

I find it amazing that you believe that is a prerequisite for having a voice here. After all, this is a public board, not a private club. She did ask for comments. If she only wanted comments that agreed with hers, she should have stated so.

It is painfully obvious that even those who are complaing want moderation. They just don't want themselves to be moderated.

Try to choose a subject that describes your topic.

Please do not use topic subjects like Help me!!! or Problems.

I'm just sayin... :wink:

...looking like LEO can hinder patient care in situations where drugs and alcohol are involved. Patients are reluctant to give you important information that could effect your approach if they view you as a symbol of authority.

It's not just the uniform either! I was caring for a multi-trauma MVA patient one night while running hot to the hospital. He was either drunk or high. I don't remember which. All the way to the ER, he kept yelling at me and my parther, "SLOW DOWN, MAN!! SLOW DOWN!!" We weren't even going that fast, so I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Finally he yelled, "COME ON MAN!! SLOW DOWN!! THE COPS ARE AFTER US!!" I looked out the back doors and there were no cops behind us, so I told him, "No there's not. There aren't any cops behind us." To which he replied, "THE COPS ARE AFTER US MAN, CAN'T YOU HEAR THE SIRENS??'

Hmmm... that depends on whether or not the caps are mandatory.

Dude, we should have an "ugliest uniform" thread!

I would nominate East Texas Medical Center EMS. Puke green shirts with sea green collars and shoulders, and sea green pants. They look like they ought to be working a Quick Lube garage.

(it's bad enough being mistaken for a security guard).

Heck, I can't even begin to count the hundreds of times that people mistook me for a security guard while in an EMS uniform, even when I was NOT wearing a badge! People are not into details. They don't read what the badge or patch or nametag you are wearing says, so they are really meaningless to everybody except others in fire, police, or EMS. That is why I have long advocated the establishment of a very separate and unique identity for EMS personnel. Best I can tell, this is the only country that doesn't universally do so.

I'm still not exactly certain what you're saying. But yes, I believe the minimal entry level education for EMS should be collegiate and include a much stronger scientific foundation.

But then again, I have to say that it should also include a lot more vocational (read: clinical) education than it currently does too.

Regarding the poll, neither choice works for me, as there is no "always" rule which applies to individual medics.

Can you clarify the two choices for me? Are you referring to their pre-professional background, or the content of their EMS education?

I had the door thing pulled on me when I got my first station assignment. Took me about 10 seconds to figure out what they had done. I took out my pocket knife and took the door off the hinges and walked out. Then when they told me to put the door back up I told them to F off.

Finally, the captain made the jokesters put the door back up and it took them half an hour. That pretty well stopped the pranks.

Now to those who freak out about right and wrong let people make up there own minds and decide if they want to pay the price later.

Who gets to decide for the victim if HE wants to pay the price or not?

To add to the badge thing.

I sent my 93 year old grandmother a pic of me in my dress uniform, the first thing she said when she saw my mother was, when did he become a cop ?

hehe... that uniform actually looks pretty familiar. Check this out.

That little kid is me headed for work in 1979. :shock:

If it weren't for the gun, it wouldn't look any different from the Hennepin County EMS uniform.

Get some valium. I got some.. from Mexico via the internet..

LMAO!!

... and then pray you don't get tapped for a random drug test.

Hennepin County medical Center ... wears a uniform that consists of a ligth brown shirt, drak brown pants and they wear a badge. the unifrom looks real sharp, but a bit too close to LEC for me.

Agreed. Whatever they look like, they do NOT look like medical professionals to me.

Hey, dinner is getting cold and Third Watch comes on tv in 20 minutes! I don't have time for spinal precautions!